Sergio Garcia in another on-course flare-up as he clashes with Matt Kuchar over missed putt at World Match Play

Hayden Buckley (+400 for a Top 20) … It was last fall when the then-unheralded PGA TOUR rookie burst onto the scene with a T4-T8 fortnight spanning the Sanderson Farms and Shriners. Well, he’s at it again. He placed T19 at Country Club of Jackson last week where his 7-under 65 was the second-lowest score of the finale. Widening the lens, he’s 8-for-10 since the U.S. Open in June at which time he acknowledged how adjustments were paying off when the lights went on. Given that he began to drift into territory in which he wasn’t going to be a certainty to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, it’s revealed the kind of moxie that a second-year talent who appreciates what the work feels like tends to pay forward, particularly on sites where he’s done it before. Russell Knox (+350 for a Top 20) … The 37-year-old Scot is off to a classic start to the new season. A top-25 machine for stretches of what is now a 12-year career, he’s opened with a pair in this one. While better than most alternatives, the sample size still is small but it echoes his overall balance when he’s gliding above the surface. He’s also 6-for-8 at the Shriners with a podium finish, albeit in 2014. If a market for a Top 40 opens, dedicate a unit or more to it. Taylor Moore (+225 for a Top 20) … To steal a line from baseball, this bet is an aggressive send, so retreat into a more comfortable goal where it’s presented. Yet, he deserves the shot to score. The 29-year-old PGA TOUR sophomore has cashed in 10 consecutive starts, half of which resulting in a top 25, including last week’s T24 in Mississippi. His tee-to-green game was on point and he ranked third in scrambling. He also finished T24 at TPC Summerlin in his membership debut a year ago on the strength of terrific mid- to long-range putting. Beau Hossler … Every season, there’s usually at least one golfer who serves as the poster boy for the possibilities despite the saddle of conditional status. He was that in 2021-22. That relatively buried position in the overall pecking order prevented him from qualifying for the Shriners, which is an open. However, because he capitalized on a couple of early opportunities, his standing in the FedExCup opened doors in all of the invitationals in which he piled on at times. Altogether, he qualified easily for the Playoffs to regain fully exempt status and eliminated the doubt of climbing into this week’s 144-man field at TPC Summerlin. This is the kind of stage on which it’d make sense for him to cash in on the calling card of his white-hot putter because he’s 4-for-4 with a pair of top 25s and a scoring average of 68.13 in 16 rounds since a T7 in his first try in 2017. Robby Shelton … Like Hossler above, Shelton relies on his flat stick to make noise, so if either focuses on hitting to the middles of the targets, it could be a special week. Shelton paced the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 in both putts per GIR and converting GIR into par breakers. Placing most of the eggs in one basket wasn’t that bad considering he was the only multiple winner on the circuit all season. He’s also 2-for-2 at TPC Summerlin at which all eight of his scores were sub-70s and where this week’s experience may feel like a KFT stop in terms of its ease. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Sam Burns made a 38-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole at Colonial, which came just more than two hours after he had finished his round, to beat top-ranked Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. After finishing his 5-under 65 to get to 9 under, Burns was done in the clubhouse when, at one point, Scheffler was among five players tied at 10 under. The gusty wind and a strange sequence changed all that. And Scheffler needed three clutch putts for a 72 just to get into the playoff matching 25-year-old standouts and close friends. Burns’ seven-stroke comeback at the Charles Schwab Challenge matched Nick Price in 1994 for the biggest in a final round to win Colonial. Burns earned 500 FedExCup points and moved to No. 2 in the standings behind Scheffler. The playoff began with both driving into the fairway at No. 18, the same hole where just moments earlier Scheffler made a 6-foot par after his approach on his 72nd hole went into the bunker. Scheffler got on the green with his approach in the playoff, but was 36 feet away. Burns hit just off the back edge of the green and used his putter, with the ball curling the last few feet into the cup. Scheffler made a good run with his putt, but didn’t have a birdie all day. It was the third win this season for Burns, and his fourth overall in his last 27 starts. The world’s 10th-ranked player won at the Valspar Championship for the second time in March. The Colonial win was worth $1,512,000, along with a plaid jacket and a custom-built Schwab Firebird Trans Am. Masters champion Scheffler was going for his fifth PGA TOUR victory in his last 10 starts. He missed becoming the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 with five wins in a PGA TOUR season before the start of June. Burns was 5-under on the front nine to make his turn at 9 under. He had birdie at No. 11, but then had bogey after a wayward tee shot and a penalty stroke. He parred out and then waited. After Scheffler’s first putt at the 17th went 8 feet past the hole, he pumped his fist when he made the par save. That was even more emphatic than his reaction when he also pushed a birdie attempt 9 foot past at No. 15 and also saved par there. Brendon Todd (71), who played in the final group with Scheffler, gave up his share of the lead with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12. That dropped him to 8 under, where he stayed to finish in third alone. That was a stroke ahead of Tony Finau (67), Davis Riley (69) and Scott Stallings (72). Temperatures were again in the mid-90s with sustained winds of more than 20 mph gusting to more than 30 mph, much like Saturday. The greens got firmer, and the wind made it even more difficult to get on — and to putt when players did. There were five players tied at 10 under after the final groups made the turn, and then a long gap of time between shots for Scheffler when he briefly regained the solo lead. Stallings birdied the 631-yard 11th to get to 10 under before he flew his approach over the No. 12 green onto a slope where his view to the grew was obstructed by a temporary TV tower. After getting a drop from that, relief from standing on a sprinkler head and then even more relief from a temporary sign, Stallings was 43 yards from the hole with a direct line to it. But his approach came up short and he ended up with bogey. Harold Varner III, in contention for his first PGA TOUR victory, was in the group with Stallings and also fell out of a share of the lead when he four-putted from just inside 20 feet after the long wait. His approach had buried into a bunker fronting the green. After that triple bogey, Varner’s tee shot at the par-3 13th went into the water and he had a double bogey. He had another triple and double after that for a backside 10-over 45 and a 78 to finish the tournament tied for 27th at even par. During that delay, Scheffler was in the fairway at No. 12 and suddenly back in the lead alone at 10 under. But that was short-lived. His approach came up just short and he then missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt. PGA TOUR rookie Riley actually had the outright lead at 11 under with sixth birdie of the day, a tap-in at the par-5 11th after chipping from behind the green after a 340-yard drive and a 305-yard approach. But his par attempt at No. 13 curled off the cup, and then his drive at the 12th went out-of-bounds on way to a double-bogey 6.

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The U.S. Open may visit a new venue this year, but the year’s second major should still be one of the season’s toughest tests. Here’s a look at some of the groups to watch next week at Erin Hills:  Hideki Matsuyama (3), Rickie Fowler (8), Jon Rahm (4): Three of the world’s best players, all of whom are seeking their first major, are in this group. Matsuyama, 25, has two wins this season. Fowler, the 2015 PLAYERS champion, was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open. Fowler, 28, won this year’s The Honda Classic and recently was runner-up at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Rahm, 22, has a TOUR-high seven top-10s in 15 starts, including his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. Rahm’s meteoric rise to the upper echelons of the game has come rapidly, as evidenced by the fact that he was low amateur at last year’s U.S. Open (T21). Tee time: 7:51 a.m. on Thursday off No. 10; 1:36 p.m. on Friday off No. 1. Kevin Kisner (6), Billy Horschel (18), Branden Grace (87): This group features the winners from the PGA TOUR’s recent Texas swing and a player who’s played well at the past two U.S. Opens. Kisner won the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, while Horschel recently claimed the AT&T Byron Nelson. Grace finished fifth at last year’s U.S. Open and T4 in 2015. These players could face each other at the Presidents Cup later this year, as well. Kisner is fourth in the U.S. standings, while Horschel is 20th. Grace ranks sixth in the International Team standings. He went 5-0-0 at the 2015 Presidents Cup. Tee time: 8:24 a.m. on Thursday off No. 1; 2:09 p.m. on Friday off No. 10. Martin Kaymer (NR), Jordan Spieth (5), Dustin Johnson (1): The past three U.S. Open winners are in this group. Johnson, the defending champion, leads the FedExCup standings after winning three consecutive events earlier this year. Spieth, who won the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay en route to claiming the FedExCup, won this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Kaymer won the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 weeks after winning THE PLAYERS Championship. Tee time: 8:35 a.m. on Thursday off No. 10; 2:20 p.m. on Friday off No. 1. Marc Leishman (14), Pat Perez (7), Si Woo Kim (23): This group features three players who have won on the PGA TOUR this season. Kim, 21, became the youngest player to win THE PLAYERS when he was victorious last month at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Perez is seventh in the FedExCup standings thanks to five top-10s this season, including a victory at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Leishman won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Tee time: 1:14 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1; 7:29 a.m. on Friday off No. 10. Brad Dalke (a) (NR), Wesley Bryan (20), Brendan Steele (11): Dalke, the 2016 U.S. Amateur runner-up, gets to tee it up with two PGA TOUR winners in his U.S. Open debut. Bryan, the 2016 Web.com Tour Player of the Year, won this year’s RBC Heritage. Steele is in FedExCup contention thanks to a win at the Safeway Open and three other top-10s. Dalke recently helped the University of Oklahoma win the NCAA Championship. Tee time: 1:14 p.m. on Thursday off No. 10; 7:29 a.m. on Friday off No. 1. Bubba Watson (106), Adam Scott (66), Sergio Garcia (12): Sergio Garcia joined an exclusive club when he won the Masters in April. Now he gets to play in a group alongside his fellow owners of a Green Jacket. Perhaps they can give him suggestions for the Champions Dinner. Scott won the 2013 Masters, while Watson won at Augusta National in 2012 and 2014. Garcia has five top-10s in the U.S. Open, including a T5 last year. Scott has four top-20s in his past five U.S. Open appearances. Tee time: 1:36 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1; 7:51 a.m. on Friday off No. 10. Jason Day (42), Justin Rose (15), Rory McIlroy (64): Defending FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, who will be making his first PGA TOUR start since THE PLAYERS because of a rib injury, leads this threesome of major champions. Day won his first major at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, about an hour north of Erin Hills. He has five top-10s in six U.S. Open appearances, including two runners-up (2011, 2013). Rose won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion by two shots over Day and Phil Mickelson. Rose, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, was runner-up to Sergio Garcia at this year’s Masters. Tee time: 2:09 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1; 8:24 a.m. on Friday off No. 10. Steve Stricker (120), Stewart Cink (60), Phil Mickelson (43): Steve Stricker, the local favorite, will tee up alongside two other players in their 40s. Stricker, this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup captain, is from Edgerton, Wisconsin, about an hour from Erin Hills. It is yet to be determined if Mickelson, who has a record six runners-up at the U.S. Open, will compete at Erin Hills. He said he would withdraw from the event if it conflicts with his daughter’s high school graduation. Stewart Cink, the 2009 Open Championship winner, qualified for this year’s U.S. Open, his first since 2014. Cink has eight top-25 finishes this season. Tee time: 2:20 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1; 8:35 a.m. on Friday off No. 10.

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